Nineteen Bishops are among more than 250 Church of England clergy who have signed a letter condemning a move to decriminalise women who induce their own abortion as “a dangerous change”.
On Tuesday, MPs voted by 379 to 137 in favour of an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill brought by the Labour MP for Gower, Tonia Antoniazzi. This disapplies the existing criminal law relating to abortion from women “acting in relation to her own pregnancy”. The amendment does not change any law regarding the provision of abortion within a healthcare setting.
The letter, published in The Daily Telegraph on Friday, says: “We are troubled by the amendment voted through by the House of Commons on Tuesday to decriminalise terminations in utero up to full term. As many elected politicians move further away from the Christian moral values that have hitherto shaped much that is good in our national life, our concern is that the vulnerable and voiceless are increasingly overlooked.
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Nineteen bishops sign letter; @bishopoffulham and the Bishop of Oswestry also express ‘profound disquiet’https://t.co/0GtctjduOt
— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) June 24, 2025